1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a support stand for a golf bag, and more particularly to a support stand for a golf bag capable of moving a pair of legs between an extended position and a retracted position and adjusting the space between the legs at the extended position with a simple construction.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Conventionally, there have been proposed various golf bags which have legs movable between their extended and retracted positions. Such type of golf bags are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,676,464 and 4,921,192.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,676,464 discloses a golf bag with an integral stand which comprises a pair of legs pivotally mounted at the upper ends thereof on the upper portion of golf bag, a pair of shoulder pads connected at the upper ends thereof to the uppermost ends of the legs, respectively, and a pair of clamps fixedly mounted to the lower ends of the shoulder pads and adapted to fit around and slide along the legs, respectively. As the shoulder pads are lifted for carrying the golf bag, the clamps slide upwards along the legs, thereby causing the legs to be retracted. On the other hand, when the shoulder pads are free, the lower ends of the shoulder pads made of an elastic material such as nylon codes are extended by virtue of their elasticity, so that the clamps slide and push the legs, thereby causing the legs to extend in order to function as a stand. Thus, this construction has improved convenience in use, over the prior arts, because the legs are automatically retracted in carrying the golf bag and automatically extended in using or storage thereof.
However, this construction has inconvenience in storage, since even in storage, the legs are automatically extended. Also, to carry or store the golf bag under the condition of extending the legs causes the necessity of large space, thereby the transportation efficiency to be decreased.
Furthermore, the construction should have a base member of special shape which makes impossible to apply the construction to golf bags most commonly used.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,921,192, a front half portion of the base of the bag is constructed inclinedly so that as the inclined base portion is brought into contact with the ground, a vertically extending actuating rod, which is disposed at the side of bag adjacent the inclined base portion and is movable upwards and downwards, is lifted to extend legs. This construction also have the disadvantage that it can not be used in general types of golf bags, because of requiring the inclined base. Furthermore, this inclined base causes the disadvantage that the golf bag falls down easily, in that the ground contact area thereof is only a part of the bottom surface of the base. In the case that golf clubs are contained in the golf bag, it is difficult to maintain the golf bag at its upright position because only the horizontal surface of the base should support the heavy weights of golf clubs. As a result, the golf bag is naturally maintained at its inclined position where the inclined surface of the base is in contact with the ground while legs are maintained at their extended position. Consequently, the golf bag can be hardly stored at its upright position under the condition of containing golf clubs therein. Large storage space is also needed because in storage, the legs are naturally maintained at their extended position.
Another golf bag stand has also been proposed in the Korean Utility Model No. 71035 issued to the applicant. The golf bag stand comprises an L-shaped actuating member provided at the lower end of a vertical movable member operatively connected to support legs. In this construction, however, the vertical movement length of the actuating member may vary depending on the ground condition, thereby causing the legs to be extended excessively or insufficiently. Where a golf bag with this construction is carried on a cart, its use is very inconvenient because of the length of the L-shaped actuating member. Furthermore, the L-shaped actuating member may be easily damaged or transformed. The damaged or transformed actuating member makes the overall stand useless. There is also disadvantages of complicated construction and expensive manufacture cost.
The Korean Utility Model Publication No. 93-7410 published in the name of the applicant discloses a golf bag stand with a more simple construction wherein legs are movable between an extended position and a retracted position by a pivotal movement of a pivoting member. However, this construction requires a manual work for pivotally mounting the pivoting member to the lower end of an actuating member and a golf bag. This manual work results in a large labor and an increase in manufacture cost. Where a golf bag with this construction is carried on a cart, its use is also very inconvenient because of the length of the pivoting member.
Most of existing golf bag stands have a constant leg extension width irrespective of the field ground condition and the number of golf clubs contained in the golf bag. For example, at a place with a slope or in the case where the number of golf clubs contained in the golf bag is large, legs are desirable to be extended a larger width in order to obtain a more stable support for the golf bag. However, there is no golf bag stand having a construction capable of adjusting the leg extension width.